Birch Wood Bio-Char – 20L

Larch Wood Bio-Char will offer the following benefits:

1) Improve the structure of the soil by offering greater aeration as well as water holding
2) Lock in nutrients by binding with the carbon so they cannot be leached or flushed out
3) Increase the cation exchange (CE) functions in soil, boosting nutrient availability
4) Provide homes for many types of microbes & fungi, increasing diversity in rootzone
5) Helps to balance PH and keep it where plants prefer it
6) Adds much needed carbon into the soil which drives microbial development
7) Helps to make nutrients increasingly available, meaning less inputs are required
8) Some growers have reported an increase in seed germination of up to 40%
9) Some growers have reported a 15% increased yield when using Bio-Char in their soil mixes

The quality of Bio-Char differs greatly depending on the type of wood used and the way it is cooked in the kiln. There are many different levels of quality of Bio-Char, often poor quality products are made from soft woods or brash or not cooked properly. The best Bio-Char has as many tiny little holes as possible. This is what will allow it to hold air and water in good balance and provide homes for microbes. It is also made slowly at lower temperatures. The quality of Bio-Char is inversely related to weight, a good biochar particle is very light, full of porosity, with a lot of surface area. Low quality Bio-Char can have a high ash content.

We recommend Larch Wood Bio-Char be added at between 5-10% of soil volume and only benefits are seen. If adding to a dead soil, some sort of inoculation is possibly beneficial but when using with a quality living soil it is not necessary and reduces the ability of the native microbes to populate the Bio-Char. We do add a little moisture to minimise the dust created when opening the packaging so it is ready to use immediately when received.